The Vicarage and the Belfry of St. Mark the Evangelist Church of England - George Street, Fitzroy

            Erected in 1910 in late Victorian style to match the buildings around it in George Street, Fitzroy, the present St. Mark the Evangelist's vicarage is a two-storey stuccoed brick structure with cast-iron lacework verandahs.  Engraved with Gothic writing, a bluestone foundation stone can be found imbedded into the base of the palisade fence which frames the small front garden.  It was dedicated by John Grice Esq., the son of Richard Grice Esq.  Richard Grice was a Victorian pastoralist and philanthropist who generously contributed almost the entire cost of the construction of St. Mark the Evangelist Church of England which stands next door.  His contributions, along with those of his son John, also helped to build the vicarage.  

The vicarage along with  St. Mark the Evangelist Church of England itself and the Social Settlement Building also built for the local parish of Fitzroy, border the beautiful St. Mark's Green, a valuable green space in the built-up environs of Melbourne's very first suburb. 

St. Mark the Evangelist was the first church to be built outside of the original Melbourne grid as Fitzroy developed into the city's first suburb.  A working-class suburb, the majority of its residents were Church of England and from 1849 a Mission Church and school served as a centre for religious, educational and recreational facilities.  The school was one of a number of denominational schools established by the Church of England and was partly funded by the Denominational School Board.
St. Mark the Evangelist Church of England was designed by architect James Blackburn and built in Early English Gothic style.  Richard Grice, Victorian pastoralist and philanthropist, generously contributed almost all the cost of its construction.  Work commenced in 1853 to accommodate the growing Church of England congregation of Fitzroy.  On July 1st, 1853, the first stone of St. Mark the Evangelist was laid by the first Bishop of Melbourne, The Right Rev. Charles Perry.  Unfortunately, Blackburn did not live to see its completion, dying the following year in 1854 of typhoid.  This left St. Mark the Evangelist without an architect to oversee the project, and a series of other notable Melbourne architects helped finish the church including Lloyd Tayler, Leonard Terry and Charles Webb.  Even then when St. Mark the Evangelist opened its doors on Sunday, January 21st, 1855, the church was never fully completed with an east tower and spire never realised. The exterior of the church is very plain, constructed of largely unadorned bluestone, with simple buttresses marking structural bays and tall lancet windows.  The church's belfry is similarly unadorned, yet features beautiful masonry work.  It has a square tower and broach spire.

Taken in: Australia / Victoria / Melbourne / Collingwood North (show map)

Taken on: January 5, 2015

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Camera: Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS, f/8.0, 1/160 sec, 6.2mm, ISO 80 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	0.006 sec (1/160)
Focal Length:	6.2mm
ISO:	80
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Auto, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
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